Konjunktiv 1 Explained

Hallo, Deutschlerner. A couple of weeks ago I explained what the differences between the Konjunktiv 1 and Konjunktiv 2 are in German. I did this in the most generic way possible and kept the details to a minimum. In this lesson I’m going to go much deeper into the Konjunktiv 1 including when and why you would need to use it, how to form it, which tenses you can use with it and a whole lot more. So grab your notebook and pen and let’s get started. 

When to use Konjunktiv 1

As I mentioned in that other video, the Konjunktiv 1 is used when relaying information said by someone else. This is known as “indirect speech”. In everyday speech, however, most Germans will not use the Konjunktiv 1 to report what was said by one of their friends. They would just use the indicative (what you are used to seeing in German). 

If you are below A2   , there is pretty much no reason for you to know how to recognize or use the Konjunktiv 1. If you are above that, it might show up on a proficiency exam, but even then, you are probably only going to need to understand what is said and not necessarily how to build it yourself.

Reporting the news

It is most commonly used in reporting the news like in a newspaper or newscast. For example: 

Und nun zu einer erstaunlichen Geschichte: Unser Reporter vor Ort berichtet, dass eine Gruppe von Katzen beschlossen habe, eine eigene Rockband zu gründen. Die Katzen, so heißt es, nennen sich ‘The Meowsters’ und spielen angeblich auf winzigen Gitarren und Schlagzeugen. Es wird gesagt, dass ihre erste Single ‘Purrfect Beat’ schon nächste Woche erscheinen werde. Ein Augenzeuge behauptet, dass die Katzen sogar in der Lage seien, synchron zu miauen und zu tanzen. Ob dies wirklich stimmt, bleibt abzuwarten. Bleiben Sie dran für weitere Updates von dieser unglaublichen Geschichte. –
And now to an astonishing story: Our reporter on the scene reports that a group of cats has decided to form their own rock band. The cats, it is said, call themselves ‘The Meowsters’ and supposedly play on tiny guitars and drums. It is said that their first single ‘Purrfect Beat’ will be released next week. An eyewitness claims that the cats are even able to meow and dance in sync. Whether this is really true remains to be seen. Stay tuned for further updates on this incredible story.

Adding distance between the speaker and the reported information

Konjunktiv 1 also gives a bit of distance between the person or group reporting the information and the source of the information.

Mein Bruder sagt, er sei in der Schule, aber seine Snapchat Story zeigt eine andere Geschichte. –
My brother says he is in school, but his Snapchat story shows another story. 

Tenses of Konjunktiv 1

When it comes to forming the Konjunktiv 1, there are 4 tenses to worry about. The Gegenwart (present), Vergangenheit (past), Zukunft (future), and Futur 2 (future perfect).

Forming Konjunktiv 1 in the Present

For simplicity’s sake, let’s start with the present. 

With the exception of “sein” and the modal verbs, the verb forms in the present tense Konjunktiv 1 can be summed up as “normal present tense, but with extra Es”.

machen in Konjunktiv 1

Notice that the ich, wir and sie (plural) and Sie (formal) forms are identical to the normal forms you are used to seeing. It is for this reason that you either avoid these forms or use the Konjunktiv 2 instead for these forms.

geben in Konjunktiv 1

Due to the fact that the “sie” (they) form of “geben” is the same in both indicative and Konjunktiv 1, if you need to express indirect speech in that form, you can use the Konjunktiv 2 instead.

Sie behaupten, sie geben dir morgen das Geld. (indicative or Konjunktiv 1) –
Sie behaupten, sie gäben dir morgen das Geld. (Konjunktiv 2) –
They claim they are giving you the money tomorrow. 

As you can see from the examples using machen and geben, the general rule for creating the present tense versions of the Konjunktiv 1 is to use the ich-form of the verb for the er, sie, es form (meaning there is an E at the end of the verb instead of a T). The du- and ihr-forms add an E between the ST and T respectively. And all of the other forms stay the same as they would have been in the normal present tense. 

sein in Konjunktiv 1

I mentioned earlier that one exception to the present tense conjugation rules happens with the verb “sein”. Here are its forms. 

Der Mann sagt, er sei nicht zu Hause, aber seine Stimme kommt aus dem Haus. –
The man says he is not at home, but his voice is coming from inside the house. 

Modal Verbs in Konjunktiv 1

When you use a modal verb in the Konjunktiv 1 in the present tense, you need to memorize their conjugations. Basically they are conjugated as if you were a German 1 student and you didn’t know these verbs are irregular in the present tense. Ich and er, sie, es get an E. Du and Ihr add E before the ST and T respectively. Wir and sie (plural) and Sie (formal) get the same forms as usual, which are pretty much just the infinitives. 

Don’t forget that “möchten” is not a real modal verb, as it is technically the Konjunktiv 2 version of “mögen”, which is why it was not listed here. 

Konjunktiv 1 in the Past Tense

When you move to the past tense in the Konjunktiv 1, we use a modified version of the Perfekt tense. This means we conjugate haben or sein in the Konjunktiv 1 and add a past participle at the end of the sentence for the main verb. For example: 

Mein Bruder behauptet, er habe einen neuen Mercedes gekauft. –
My brother claims he bought a new Mercedes. 

Meine Mutter hat in seine Garage geschaut und das Auto sei nicht da gewesen. –
My mother looked into his garage and the car was not there. 

I’ve already shown you the full conjugation of “sein”. Here is the Konjunktiv 1 conjugation of “haben”. 

If you need a refresher course on the Perfekt tense, my articles about that tense are listed below.

Perfekt – Present Perfect Tense Posts

Overview of German Tenses
Basics of the Perfekt Tense + Regular Verbs
Perfekt mit “haben” oder “sein”
Perfekt with Irregular Verbs
3 Principal Parts of German Verbs
Was hast du am Wochenende gemacht? – Perfekt Example Dialogue
Du hast eine echt coole Party verpasst. – Perfekt Example Dialogue
In einem Leben by Nena – Lyrical Analysis
How to Use Partizip I & II as Adjectives

Future Tense in Konjunktiv 1

When you need to express something in the future using the Konjunktiv 1, you have two options. You can use the regular future tense (Futur 1) with the verb “werden” conjugated to the Konjunktiv 1 forms or you can use the Futur 2 version, which includes a past participle at the end of the sentence. 

In case you don’t remember, the Futur 1 is simply expressing that the action expressed is likely to occur after the current moment, i.e. the future. The Futur 2, by contrast, shows that something has already been completed at the time of reference in the future. Before we get to the examples, we need to learn how to conjugate “werden” in the Konjunktiv 1 first. 

You’ll notice that the only forms that are really different are the du and er, sie, es forms. This, again, means that you would likely use the Konjunktiv 2 to express the other forms in indirect speech. Let’s try some examples. 

Mein Nachbar hat mir erzählt, dass sein Hund eine Adoptionsagentur gründen werde. –
My neighbor told me that his dog is going to start an adoption agency. 

Bis 2035 werde die Adoptionsagentur fünftausend Hunde gerettet haben. –
By 2035 the adoption agency will have saved five thousand dogs. 

In the first example, I used the regular future tense to talk about something generic in the future, namely the starting of an adoption agency. The second example used the Futur 2 to illustrate that the act of rescuing 5000 dogs will have been completed at the point of reference in 2035. 

The Bottom Line

So to recap, the Konjunktiv 1 is used to express indirect speech. You do this by pretending that irregular verbs don’t exist and adding E’s where they otherwise would not be. You can use the Konjunktiv 1 to express things about the present, future and past including the future perfect tense. If the Konjunktiv 1 is not readily recognized, because the Konjunktiv 1 version of the verb is identical to the normal conjugation of the verb, you can use the Konjunktiv 2 instead, but it should be clear that it is indirect speech based on the structures you use.

Konjunktiv 1 & Konjunktiv 2

For more about the Konjunktiv 1 or Konjunktiv 2, check out these articles.

• Konjunktiv 1 vs Konjunktiv 2
• Konjunktiv 2 Explained
• Konjunktiv 2 in Common Conversations
• Konjunktiv 2 with “würden”
• Konjunktiv 2 with “haben” (hätte) and “sein” (wäre)
• Konjunktiv 2 with Modal Verbs
• Common Verbs with Konjunktiv 2